Darland, Drake & Kuhn Enter Pepsi/Mt. Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals
Saturday, May 20, 2006
For only the second time in the history of the Pepsi/Mt. Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals has the defending Weld Racing National Midget Driver of the Year (NMDoY) been able to compete in the prestigious midget car event at Knoxville Raceway. However, with the sanctioning by the United States Auto Club (USAC), the television coverage by The Outdoor Channel, and the $5,000 Mopar Bonus Challenge by Mopar, this year’s June 2-3 event will feature 2005 National Midget Driver of the Year Brad Kuhn of Avon, Indiana. In 2003, defending NMDoY Aaron Fike finished fourth in the Knoxville Midget Nationals feature.
According to racing director Ralph Capitani, “We are very pleased that this event, in just its fifth year, has been taken to the next level with USAC’s commitment. We expect it will be a destination in years to come for many international midget car drivers from Australia and New Zealand. In fact, with all of Kuhn’s racing this past winter in both of those countries, he should probably have been crowned the ‘International Midget Driver of the Year’.”
Joining Kuhn as recent entrants for the $1,650-to-win Pepsi/Mt. Dew King Doodlebug Classic on Friday night, June 2, and the $3,350-to-win Pepsi/Mt. Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals on Saturday night, June 3, are Brad Mosen and Michael “Slim” Pickens, both of whom are from Auckland, North Island, New Zealand.
In addition, more entries have been received recently from the ‘best of the best’ from the world of USAC open-wheel racing. Amongst those new entrants are pavement star Michael Lewis, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Duane “Pancho” Carter’s son Cole Carter, USAC Triple Crown champion Dave Darland, Chip Ganassi Racing development program driver Bryan Clauson, 2004 North American Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll Rookie of the Year Davey Ray, and former Indy Pro Series driver Jay Drake. They join previously entered USAC stalawarts Tracy Hines, Jerry Coons, Jr., Josh Wise, and Levi Jones. Both Dave Darland of Indiana and Davey Ray of Iowa will wheel new Toyota-powered midget cars for veteran owner Steve Lewis of California.
While USAC and its National Midget Car Series will be the sanctioning body for the fifth annual event, four additional regional sanctioning organizations have agreed to be affiliated with the two-day show on the Marion County Fairgrounds. American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC), Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association (RMMRA), Midwest Auto Racing Association (MARA) and the Southern Midget Racing Series (SMRS) will all be affiliated with racing which be televised later on The Outdoor Channel.
Due to the additional affiliations, the television package and the increased purse, entries have also been received from Tom Hessert III of New Jersey, Johnny Rodriguez of California, Dustin Morgan of Oklahoma, Andy Martin of Pennsylvania, Jimmy Light of Pennsylvania, Donnie Lehmann of Illinois, Darrin Bolton of California, Cody Brewer of Oklahoma, Brady Bacon of Oklahoma, and former Knoxville Raceway sprint car track record holder Don Droud, Jr. If the winner of the Saturday feature utilizes a Mopar powerplant, that driver will receive a $5,000 MoPowered bonus check, courtesy of Mopar. All entrants competing with Mopar power are eligible for the Mopar Bonus Challenge at Knoxville.
For more information on the Knoxville Raceway and the June 2-3 Pepsi/Mt. Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals, individuals are urged to visit www.knoxvilleraceway.com. For more information on the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (NSCHoF) induction weekend, also June 2-4, people are encouraged to visit www.sprintcarhof.com. For more information regarding Mopar, the Mopar Challenge Bonus, or USAC Racing, log on to www.moparspeed.com, www.mopar.com, or www.usacracing.com. The other midget car sanctioning affiliate web sites are as follows: www.mararacing.com, www.rmmra.org, www.smrsmidgets.com and www.ardcmidgets.com.
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